Printco and managing director Neil Pearson cop more than $40k fine after severe workplace bullying left worker with lasting mental health issues

An Oakleigh South printing company and a high level executive have been slammed over horrifying workplace bullying, which left a contractor with lasting panic attacks and anxiety.

An Oakleigh South printing company, Printco, has pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe workplace for employees after one man was verbally abused by the managing director over a four year period.

An Oakleigh South printing company and a high level executive have been slammed over horrifying workplace bullying, which left a contractor with lasting panic attacks and anxiety.

Printco Australia and Neil Pearson, the company’s managing director, pleaded guilty in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on February 27 to two charges each of failing to provide a safe working environment, after an ex-contractor accused Pearson of verbally abusing him over a four-year period.

The court heard Pearson verbally humiliated and abused the victim over the phone and in person, in behaviour described as to include yelling, abusive language, swearing, abusive tones, name calling, intimidation and threatening his livelihood.

In the midst of a 2021 snap lockdown, the victim reached boiling point and recorded a phone conversation between himself and Pearson.

The call came after a series of messages between the pair regarding the legality of contractors working throughout lockdown periods.

The court heard Pearson yelled at the victim, calling him a “little f---ing c--t” and told him to “show some respect you piece of s--t”.

Neil Pearson, managing director of Printco, verbally abused the victim on multiple occasions, even calling him a “little f-----g c--t” in a recorded phone call.

The shocking incident was the final straw for the victim who reported Pearson and Printco to the Victorian WorkSafe Authority within the following days.

Pearson’s abusive behaviour had been levelled at the victim and to other workers since 2017, and had occurred in front of witnesses on multiple occasions, the court was told.

The victim wrote a harrowing impact statement that was read out in court, where he outlined the impact the abuse had on his mental health and lifestyle.

“I faced verbal and emotional abuse on various occasions. I became emotionally exhausted,” he wrote.

“I would have panic attacks because I was afraid of how he would react. Most interactions ended up with him swearing or threatening my job.”

The court heard the height of the abuse was occurring through lockdown, when the victim’s wife was heavily pregnant with their first child.

“When my daughter was born, it was the only happiness I’d experienced for a long time,” the court heard.

“I will never get back the time I lost during my wife’s pregnancy or when my child was a newborn. For that I will never forgive Neil.”

Printco and Pearson both received $20k fines with conviction over the horrific treatment of the contractor over 2017 to 2021.

The victim also spoke to the way public altercations with Pearson made him feel “humiliated and embarrassed”.

“I was having regular panic attacks and chest pain,” he wrote.

At the time of the offending, Pearson had been in charge of informing employees about policy on bullying, harassment and the code of conduct that was appropriate in the workplace, and had released information booklets regarding those matters just eight months prior to the final incident.

In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Angela Bolger said it was a “privilege” for employers to be responsible in creating and maintaining a safe workplace for their workers.

“It’s a positive obligation, but with that privilege comes a very real responsibility,” she said.

“A failure to adhere to that responsibility comes with severe harm. Very often it’s physical harm, but here it’s psychological or mental harm.”

Ms Bolger said that impact had been apparent in this case, calling the victim impact statement “arresting”.

She fined the company and Pearson with conviction $20,000 each, and ordered both parties to pay $4656.50 in costs for the prosecution.